After getting through the first two volumes I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this one. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the story, it was more that I didn't really see a happy relationship. Maya felt lonely and cast aside while Nemugasa was cold and unsympathetic. I was happy that in the end Nemugasa realized he was in love with Maya but I was still worried that he'd go back to his unfriendly personality.
Not so. There was so much sweetness and fluff in this volume, from both Nemugasa and Maya, that I had to I do a double take to make sure these were even the same characters. Maya is so in love with Nemugasa that he can't stand being away from him. He actually worked his behind off so he could get into the college prep classes that Nemugasa was in and even decided to go to college so that Nemugasa will want to stay with him.
And Nemugasa has so completely opened himself up to Maya that it's actually him that's doing most of the pining when he couldn't be with him due to all the test preparations they were doing. He was like a completely different person and I couldn't get over how much he had changed.
There was a lot of focus on Maya's appearance in this volume. By Japanese standards his looks made him look more like a delinquent than like a college bound high schooler. When Nemugasa's mother met him for the first time, she told Nemugasa that she didn't want him hanging out with him anymore. This caused some minor problems but they were eventually allowed to be around each other again thanks to an intervention from Akira (Akira... the same guy who ratted Nemugasa out to his teacher and then took him to a club to essentially be raped by one of his friends. I mean, where did THAT guy go because he's been nothing but sweet since).
Even so, that situation, along with another incident that took place outside of Nemugasa's cram school, was enough to make Maya get a new haircut and dye his hair black... and, oh my God, did he look hot 😍. Nemugasa is going to have a hard time keeping the college girls off of him because they aren't going to able to help it!
They each gets accepted to their college of choice and so begins volume 4. Yes, I've already started it and, yes, it's starting out just as good!
It takes until volume 3 for the story to not be toxic. The sex is finally consensual, the top becomes considerate and his character grows, thus providing us with much needed development and the art style is noticably better. The story is sadly very repetitive. On the one hand, the mangaka takes enough time to develop the plot point, namely the last year of high school and all the preparation for entrance exams. On the other hand, this is the second volume with this as the main plot point driving the characters and it's boring. Especially tedious are the repetitive thoughts. And even though so much time is dedicated to the entrance exams, the volume suddenly ends with the last school day and graduation and I'm confused why we wasted two whole volumes with the same "OMG I miss him but I won't say anything for the drama" over and over again.
At least it's an improvement but I shouldn't have to wait until volume 3 to finally read about a non-rapey, non-toxic relationship. And I did it only because I conciously CHOSE to give this series a chance. Let's see if the rest of series is worth my time.
Continua la historia de Maya y Nemu en los ch12 y ch13 de esta historia que aún no termina.
Por ahora siguen luchando con sus examenes escolares, pero en cuanto a su relación ya esta mucho mas estable y equilibrada, cosa que me alegra después de lo mucho que sufrí en el volumen anterior, a estas alturas parecen unos personajes y una historia completamente diferente a los del volumen 1 y 2
Me ha encantado este tomo. El cambio de Maya, ver cómo se está transformando por dentro y por fuera... Y Nemugasa que cada vez está más enamorado de Maya. Aish, muy cuquis ellos. También en este tomo el dibujo de Nekota da un giro. Se nota el paso del tiempo y lo que perfecciona su estilo.
(Comprat de 2a mà volum 3-4 en anglès) Un volum genial, tendre i ben dolç en què la relació es consolida i va madurant: el Nemu cada cop està més enamorat i expressa els seus sentiments i el Maya deixa de ser el merda que era abans. Akira, sexy i malèfic a parts iguals. Ara, com a drama, la mare del Nemu no es refia del Maya i no vol que es relacioni amb el seu fill per les seves pintes de perdonavides. Per això apunta el seu fill a una acadèmia i l'obliga a deixar les classes particulars amb l'Akira a casa del Maya, cosa que el frustra i deprimeix molt, però ha d'aprendre a encaixar-ho. En conseqüència, el Maya decideix treure's els piercings i tornar-se a tenyir de negre per projectar una imatge més adulta i que no el titllin de pinxo macarra. Molt bé, la cosa s'està posant cuqui ♥
Nekota Yonezou’s Hidoku Shinaide/Treat Me Gently is eerie similar to Madarame Hiro’s Kawaii Akuma/Cute Demon, both authors used the same trope, one which is quite prevalent in yaoi: boy wants boy and rapes him because he doesn’t have the balls to say it or act in a respectable manner, and after months of sexual assault, the victim eventually falls in love with his attacker….